There's One Thing Those Legendary Hands Can't Do
by wickedsingularity
Summary: [x-mas stories 2017 #5, drabble] It's Christmas, we're on shore leave, and Leonard is insisting to do a chore for me.


_wickedsingularity's Christmas Stories 2017_

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It was a rare occasion that shore leave came around the same time as Christmas. Even rarer, that a ship was near Earth when it happened. But the Enterprise was scheduled for a few weapon upgrades and a mini re-fitting so she docked at McKinley Station right before Christmas, and all her crew were getting a couple of months shore leave.

Leonard and I were assigned one of the one-bedroom apartments that Starfleet had in connection to the Academy and Headquarters. While we could have stayed with his family in Georgia or mine in California, at least until over Christmas, we wanted to have the luxury of being able to leave and go "home".

This temporary home is where I currently enjoyed an old classic Christmas movie called _Elf_. I was curled up on the couch, blankets all around me and a mug of hot chocolate lightly spiced with pumpkin spices in my hands. The movie had just begun, and I was waiting for Leonard to come join me, I had hot chocolate waiting for him too.

After a little while, I heard him come out of the bedroom. I turned my head around to smile and beckon him over, but his arms were overloaded with wrapping paper, ribbon and tape, and several bags were hanging from his hands. It was a balancing act and he stumbled a bit on the edge of the carpet, and was just about to drop it all, but made it to the table just in time to load it all onto it.

"Len? What on earth are you up to?" I asked, smiling bemusedly.

"Figured I'd wrap our presents while you enjoy your movie." He sorted the paper and the bags, organizing everything.

"I told you I'd do it later today."

"I want to, darlin'." He sauntered over and picked up his steaming mug. "You rest and watch your movie, I know you need to watch it every Christmas. I'll wrap everything up, and have you and the elf as background noise." Then he leaned down and gave me a quick kiss. "Mmm, you taste like chocolate."

I settled deeper into the couch, snuggling it instead of my boyfriend. Very soon, I became engrossed in the movie, even if I had seen it twenty times before.

It had been maybe a quarter of an hour when something caught my attention. There was a clunk, a sloshing sound, a few curse words, and then the scraping of a chair being pushed backwards and toppling over.

I snapped my head around and looked over the back of the couch. The cup had fallen, spilling its contents all over the table and Leonard was frantically shoving things out of the way.

"What happened?!" I stood up hastily, paused the movie and rushed over.

"I knocked it over by accident," Leonard mumbled, pressing paper towels onto the table. "The presents are safe, love. Go back to your movie."

"Are you sure you don't want me to help you?" I looked at the only present he had managed to wrap so far, and it didn't look good.

"I'm sure. See?" He held up the now light brown paper towels before tossing them over into the sink. "I just can't use this roll of paper." And that too joined the paper towels, to recycled later.

Hiding the scepticism, I nodded and smiled encouragingly before turning around to snuggle myself on the couch again. But this time, it didn't take long before the crinkling of paper and huffs and puffs and muttered curses reached my ears, distracting me. I tried to ignore it, but it got more and more annoying until I turned off the movie and walked over to the table.

"Len, sweetheart." I glanced around at the mess. He was about to wrap his left hand into the gift, he had ribbon in his teeth to try and tighten the knot, and... was that a piece of tape in his hair? "Let me help you."

"I'm fine!" As he spoke, the ribbon fell out and he cursed again.

I walked around the table and carefully pulled the tape out of his hair. Then I slid my arms around him and leaned my head on his shoulder. "Your hands are so talented, Doctor McCoy," I spoke almost seductively near his ear. "They can do the most complicated surgery, expertly stitch up wounds, make me come so beautifully... But they can't wrap a present to save your life."

He didn't say anything, just stared down at the hand inside the wrapping paper, the ribbon with his bitemark on it. Then he snorted. "Please help me, darlin'."

"Move over, I'll show you how."


End file.
